High school boys basketball: West G defeats Perry again (with video)

For the second year in a row, West Geauga beat the same team three times in one season.

The Wolverines did it last year to Harvey in the sectional final and they did it again this year in a 54-41 win over Perry in the Division II sectional final at Lakeside High School.

"This is a great rivalry game," West Geauga coach John Cardiero said. "I didn't put much emphasis on anything else, except let's go out and let's play hard. Let's just play the way we are capable of playing and whatever happens, happens."

The Pirates (11-13) opened the game with a 10-2 run as they capitalized on three straight Wolverine turnovers. The Wolverines regrouped and closed the quarter with a 10-4 run, but still trailed, 15-12, at the end of the first.At the start of the second, the Pirates went on an 6-0 run for a 23-12 lead -- their biggest of the night. With 5:18 to play in the first half, Cale Burdyshaw picked up his third foul and was forced to sit. With Burdyshaw on the bench, the Wolverines closed the second with a 8-4 run. They still trailed, 27-22, at halftime.

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The Wolverines switched up their defense at halftime and concentrated on putting a hand in the faces of Ryan Zaletel and Burdyshaw. Instead of shooting from the outside, Zaletel and Burdyshaw were challenged to go inside and the Wolverines did a solid job of stopping the Pirates from getting any looks.

"I was watching Zaletel in the pregame and he was nailing his shots," Cardiero said. "I just told the kids we need to make sure we stick with him. That cost us a little bit in the first half because of our weak side help. It wasn't there so much because we were trying to focus on keeping Zaletel out of the picture."

Zaletel went scoreless in the first half. He finished with two points. Burdyshaw had a team-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers.

The Wolverines also increased their intensity in the second half. They opened with an 8-2 run for a 30-29 lead. It was their first of the game.

They outscored the Pirates, 18-7, in the third quarter and 14-7 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

"Our coach did a great job of adjusting our defense in the second half," Formichelli said. "Coach Cardiero made us unstoppable on the defensive end. We threw a zone on them and they couldn't break it. They shot themselves out of the game and I thought it was a great coaching technique."

The Wolverines improved to 16-7.

"There are eight seniors on this team and they've come together so much as a team," Perry coach Alan Iacofano said. "We are a couple of games under a .500 finish, but we've been so competitive in our losses. We've been in every game and not a lot of teams can say that."

University 56, John Hay 44

University coach Terry Lipford held up his hands and covered his head when he saw Sam Bentz was about to release a 3-pointer with under two minutes remaining in the early game against John Hay.

Bentz's shot proved to be the dagger the Preppers (16-7) needed in a hard-fought 56-44 win over the Hornets (16-7).

"Sam is the kind of player who wants to take the big shots," Lipford said. "He has been that way as long as I've coached him and it was no different tonight."

The Preppers led, 45-42, with 4:39 left to play. They increased the lead to 48-44 on a 3 by Bentz who followed with another 3 for a 51-44 lead which made his coaches, teammates and fans cheering wildly. Bentz finished with a game-high 24 points including seven 3-pointers.

"I have to credit my point guard, D'Andrea Austin," Bentz said. "So many guys on the team feed me the ball. I owe it all to them and the coaches. I just have to shoot it."

The Preppers advance to a district semifinal against West Geauga at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.